Golden Grrrls are a trio from Glasgow and London who claim inspiration from the 80s New Zealand and Australian indie-pop scene.
They’ve been bouncing round the local music scene for a couple of years but this self-titled release is their first full-length.
What Golden Grrrls are great at is getting straight to the point; not a second is wasted and not a note is unnecessary.
The fizzy ‘New Pop’ is a gorgeous 1.55 blast of DIY power-pop and when the guitar drops in half way through, mimicking the vocal line, it’s irresistibly catchy.
‘Paul Simon’ doesn’t sound at all like the legendary folk-rock hobbit but it does pack a maddeningly catchy guitar hook that dance around like a female-fronted Vampire Weekend.
Singing drummer Eilidh Rodgers gives the group a distinctive feel but this is most definitely a team effort, with twin guitarists Ruari MacLean and Rachel Aggs tossing hooks back and forth.
‘Date It’s weaving, duelling female vocals sound like Sleater-Kinney, though there’s little sense of build and release to the choruses, which merely pile up Ruari MacLean’s baritone on top without delivering a really memorable hook.
Much more convincing is the closing ‘We’ve Got…’ on which the trio’s jangly guitar lines converge on a point somewhere between Best Coast’s wistful escapism and The Smiths’ melancholy.
Their DIY sensibility and bubbly riffs make Golden Grrrls a charming proposition, only accentuated by the fact that their three part harmonies are only sometimes what they claim to be.
Even when they jar with one another however they do so amiably, channelling Pavement’s freewheeling slacker sensibility rather than the Beach Boy’s baroque classicism.
Perhaps in another era an impressionable kid would pick up a Golden Grrrls tape, drop it into their Walkman and be whisked away into a world of sun and showers, wit, warmth and wonder, never to look back.
In 2013 it’s hard to see Golden Grrrls changing the world but with this debut album it’s definitely a better place with them in it.
Words: Max Sefton
I bought this LP the other day, (still unopened) without having heard a note or knowing who they were. It is nice to know that my old deduce the sound from the sleeve art work skills still function. The big from GLASGOW sticker played a big part too.
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